


The Incident

by desitonystark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Developing Relationship, M/M, Misunderstandings, Non-Linear Narrative, Omega Tony Stark, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:41:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29244471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desitonystark/pseuds/desitonystark
Summary: Strictly speaking, there are Two Incidents. Actually, that’s not right. There’s the Incident for Tony, and the Incident for Bucky, and while they’re intricately linked and happen only hours after one another, on the very same day, they aren’t in fact, the same Incident.(or, Bucky and Tony's tragic lack of communicating with each other almost loses them something very special)
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	The Incident

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first time writing an a/b/o verse, so please be kind!! this came to me at like 3am and i had the foresight to record my sleepy-self explaining it in slurred speech, so now it might actually become a fic

Strictly speaking, there are Two Incidents. Actually, that’s not right. There’s the Incident for Tony, and the Incident for Bucky, and while they’re intricately linked and happen only hours after one another, on the very same day, they aren’t in fact, the same Incident.

\--

Bucky plops down next to Steve with a loud sigh, immediately leaning his back against the cold concrete and propping up his head with his arms. It takes a couple seconds for Steve to respond, because he’s in the middle of a sandwich and not in a position to turn around, but he finally shifts so he’s sitting cross-legged and facing Bucky; grimacing when he sees the look on Bucky’s face.

“Still nothing?” Steve asks, even though he already knows the answer, “No calls, no texts, nothing?”

“It’s like he’s vanished!” Bucky says, the same way he’s been saying those words for the past two weeks, with a touch of desperation, “I’m not even interested in courting him anymore Stevie, I just wanna know what I did wrong. I took it slow, I was respectful, I thought I did everything right.”

He sits up suddenly, ignoring the ache in his back, “Do you think I pushed too soon? Maybe you were right, it was stupid to court someone only a week after meeting him.”

Steve pauses for a second before responding, because it _was_ stupid of Bucky to start courting Tony barely a week after he’d run into the omega outside the Starbucks on the corner of 5th and Main. Courting was serious business, and a week had seemed like such a short time. In truth, when Steve first heard about it, he was torn between thinking that Bucky was punch-drunk on the omega’s pheromones, or that the omega was conning Bucky somehow and leading his friend on.

They weren't charitable thoughts, and he regretted them instantly when he actually met Tony a couple days later, and saw how smitten Bucky was. It didn’t hurt that Tony was a genuinely a good guy, if not a bit shy and constantly followed an overbearing alpha named Rhodey who spent the majority of his time glaring at anyone who even looked at Tony funny, including Bucky. But, Steve reasoned, it wasn’t like he didn’t have his own suspicions about Tony in the beginning, and it was only natural that Tony’s friends felt the same - so he decided to give Tony a chance. After all, anybody who was anybody could see how taken Bucky and Tony were with each other, the way they seemed to gravitate into each other’s space like they’d known each other for years instead of just a couple months.

Steve’s seen Bucky interested in people, but he’s never seen Bucky interested in someone the way he’s interested in Tony.

He had Tony’s coffee order memorised and woke up early each morning to meet Tony in the Quad to give him his first cup, and then he’d walk Tony to class, even though the Science Department was a good twenty minutes away from the Languages Department. He looked up recipes for caramel treats because Tony mentioned once in passing that he liked caramel, and cajoled Natasha into letting him use her kitchen to practise his baking because she was the only one in their group of friends who had an off-campus apartment. He made sandwiches and pasta and burgers, and took them over to the Labs in the dead of the night because _Tony forgets to eat sometimes Stevie, I can’t have my omega withering away before I got a chance to properly bond with him._

Steve still stands by what he said, that it was stupid for Bucky to court Tony barely a week after meeting him, but in all fairness to Bucky, it _had_ seemed like Tony was just as open to the courting, and looked like he was half in love with Bucky himself. Steve’s only met Tony a couple times since the first time they met, but he’s met him enough to know that Tony’s a high society omega and that Steve was expecting him to be uptight and dismissive, but Tony’s nothing like that. He’s whipsmart, can talk circles around all of them but he isn’t rude about it. He’s nice, the disarming kind of nice that you don’t see very often, even if he hides it behind bluster and snark. He’s also got no problem telling unwanted alphas where they can shove it, and barring that, getting Rhodey to do it for him.

Which is what makes this whole thing so much more complicated, because of all the ways Bucky courting Tony was going to end, even Stevie didn’t see it ending with Tony ghosting Bucky just when things were going right.

“I don’t know Buck,” Steve says finally, because he can tell from the furrow in Bucky’s brows that he’s left the silence lapse for too long, “You know how I felt about Tony in the beginning. But I gotta be honest, he’s grown on me these past few months. I really thought you guys were going to make it, so I don’t know what - “

Steve trails, eyes widening, “Tony!”

“Yeah Stevie, we’re talking about Tony,” Bucky scoffs, “I know.”

“No -” Steve reaches out and shoves Bucky, turning him around and gesturing with his hand, “ _Tony._ Right there.”

Bucky jumps up, not even bothering to dust his trousers, “Holy shit it’s Tony.” Tony’s grabbing a coffee in the shop across the street, far enough that he probably won’t hear them unless they’re particularly loud, but not that far that Bucky can’t get to him in a matter of minutes. He’s also alone, which means that Bucky might actually get a shot at talking to him. After two weeks of no communication, Steve would’ve thought that Bucky would be running over there; consequences be damned.

But something’s holding him back, which is why Steve lets out a tentative, “Buck?”

“This isn’t him just forgetting his phone, or getting lost in a project. He’s been ignoring me Stevie, purposely putting distance through that. What kind of knothead alpha am I if I don’t respect that?”

“Look,” Steve says with a sigh, “Tony wasn’t just any omega. And you aren’t just any alpha. You were _courting_ him, that means something Bucky. If he tells you to fuck off after you get there and you don’t listen, then yeah you’re the type of knothead alpha who deserves his skull cracked open. But there ain’t nothing wrong in asking him what happened Buck, you deserve that much. After that, it’s up to Tony.”

Bucky nods, “Okay I’m going over. Just, wait here? In case it doesn’t…” Bucky trails, but Steve can fill in the gaps. _In case it doesn’t go well._

“I’ll be right here pal,” Steve promises, “Till the end of the line remember? Now go get your pretty ‘mega.”

**Author's Note:**

> so, thoughts? 👀


End file.
